Born in Macedonia in the summer of 356 B.C. as the son of King Philip the II, Alexander the Great quickly proved to be adaptive, commanding, and intelligent. Aside from the mythology of his divine conception, the temple of Zeus was struck by lightning during the night of his birth, supposedly aligning him with greatness. As a boy no older than twelve, he tamed the wildest horse in a society of horsemen that no other man could master. This horse, Bucephalus, became his war steed after whom armies charged, cities named, and grown men mourned of his passing. By the age of sixteen, Alexander already led his father's army. While the position of the prince heir as leader of the army was not uncommon, for a man so young to display the adaptability in battle that Alexander employed revealed mighty potential. With the assassination of his father, Alexander became king at age twenty. After subduing a far-spread rebellion of his Greek states, he took his army of no more than 30,000 to subdue the Persians, the mightiest empire the world had ever seen. In three major battles, Alexander destroyed all resistance of his Persian enemies, absorbed their fortunes, claimed their land, and became acclaimed as the son of Zeus by the infallible oracle in the Siwa Oasis of Egypt. Not only did he conquer all Persian land, he pushed even farther toward India and only halted because of the exhaustion of his troops. He traversed an uncrossable desert with 80,000 men and died of unknown causes in Babylon a month before his thirty-third birthday. Failing to leave an heir of appropriate age, his generals feigned rule in his name for a decade before claiming territories for themselves and firmly establishing the legend of the Hellenistic world.
While no man of history lived a flawless life, much can be learned from Alexander, and his character is easily inspiring, especially for young men still seeking to make a mark on the world.
- Face Your Fear. From boyhood onward, Alexander never took an injury in his back. His chest, arms, legs, and head were bloodied at one point or another during his decade long campaign. Never did he turn away from his enemy. Once he fell behind a city wall and held off his attackers alone with his back to a tree. He did not surrender and was eventually rescued, nearly unconscious, the bodies of his foes surrounded him and only their spears had been able to harm him after finally wearing down his defenses. After healing, he went on with his army to conqueror even more cities despite the risks.
- Take Charge. Once his father died, Alexander became king immediately. Because of his training and years of experience in the army, he was ready for the tasks of leadership when it arrived. He didn't waste time making excuses; he buckled down and got the job done.
- Don't Settle for Less. Initially, as his army left Greece, the intention was to defeat Darius III's army and return to Greece to embrace the peace. However, after two victories, Alexander turned down Darius III's offer of co-rulership. The next meeting, the battle of Gaugamela, was the most difficult task his army had faced. Conservative estimates state Alexander outnumbered no less than two-to-one with ancient sources having him outnumbered six or seven-to-one. Quickly assessing the situation, Alexander definitively defeated the Persians and eventually tracked down Darius the III to claim sole rulership of the conquered Persian empire. If Alexander had settled for rulership of the western half, he would undoubtedly have been remembered as a great general of history but never achieved the lasting acclaim for which he is praised.
- Honor your Promises. Alexander never lied to his army. After every major battle, he offered to let them turn back if they wished, his only "threat" being that they would miss out on the wealth and legends of victory. With the fall of Persia, Alexander became excessively wealthy but gave the majority of his earnings as awards to generals and heroic soldiers. He paid for statues to honor the fallen and sent large reimbursements back to Greece and Macedonia to enrich the homeland.
- Remember those that have Sacrificed for You. Alexander founded many cities as he traveled. While many of these were named after himself, others were named to honor the great generals of that battle or remember a fallen hero. One city of note is Bucephala named after his horse. When Hephaestion, Alexander's best friend, died, Alexander designed a gigantic burial mound that was said to marvel the pyramids but remained unfinished due to Alexander's own death. Very few walked away from Alexander feeling jipped for services rendered.
- Make Friends. Alexander fought many battles. Battles are fought against enemies. Despite this surplus of opposition, Alexander possessed diplomatic skills and often befriended rulers that had opposed him. Instead of killing them and having to leave a proven general behind to run a city, Alexander left many kings in their thrones after swearing loyalty and service to Alexander. Once he had gotten the best of someone, he remained content with having proven superior. The most famous account of this is Porus, the Indian king that opposed Alexander's crossing of the Hydaspes River. Powerful enemies can also make powerful friends.
- Push the Bounds of Impossible. This characterizes his life. He conquered the biggest armies in the world, defeated impenetrable cities numerous times, turned Tyre into a peninsula, overcame wounds and poison, crossed the western Egyptian desert and then crossed Gedrosia. Many of Alexander's acts cannot be explained without understanding that the impossible seemed to be the only thing that could challenge him.. He defeated the Persian army three times, he crossed deserts with an army twice, he spent a year making land war against an island, and no warrior could best him. Never did he leave his soldiers to a task without pitching in with more fervor than any other. This habit created a bond with him and his men and cemented their loyalty and love with his mutual suffering of hardships.
Few men that have lived are as inspirational as his mighty warrior. However, he did make mistakes which we can also take heed to.
- Have a Plan. Alexander always did have a plan, especially in battle. However, by refusing to accept anything as satisfactory, his goals constantly expanded and rendered him uncontent with his amazing success. While this was fundamental to his achievements, it also led to his undoing as he pushed his men farther than they were willing to go and damaged their relationship of unwavering loyalty.
- Treasure Loyalty. Since he honored those that served him, it may be easy to gloss over the mistakes of judgment he did have. In a drunken rage, he killed Cleitus for false charges of treachery and also had to kill Cleitus's father, Parmenion, one of his elite generals, fearing revenge for Cleitus's death. All this occurred because Alexander had forgotten that Cleitus had saved his life and that Parmenion had been the first to hail him as king at the death of his father, Philip II.
May your achievements match the undefeated one, founder of the Hellenistic empires, and inspiration through the ages: Alexandros III, the Great.
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Agatha Tyche
